The Realms of Thrice (Lesbian Fiction)

Chapter XXI - The One They Fear

Chapter XXI - The One They Fear

The Sanctum had since calmed by the time Anders, Kael, and Ryker passed through the portal.

The injuries which ailed Ryker had made the slowest of progress, but at least he held consciousness, and that made both men more hopeful. A group of people rushed them as soon as they saw the struggling form between them.

“Get him to the infirmary!” Anders said; his voice authoritative and strained from the weight of Ryker leaned against him. Two men took his weight and started carrying him down to the infirmary.

Kael looked around, surveying the damage. His eyes finally landed on the chipped and battered alcove. His brows furrowed as he gazed on in confusion. “What’s happened?” he asked, directing his line of question to Gregore who was quickly approaching them with a look of relief.

“Ah! Kael, Anders, it’s a relief to see you both! I trust the portals are workin—”

“Shut up you fool!” Anders interrupted with an angry sneer, the timbre in his voice on the urge of panic. “Where are Emri and the Empress?” Gregore, who had been looking at him in shock from the outburst, quickly averted his eyes elsewhere, to a more neutral target—one not so aggressive. But patience had since left Anders’s two moons ago. And he was not in the mood for petty games. “WHERE ARE THEY?!”

“M—Miss Dyer is down in the infirmary and the Empress … well she …” he stumbled around with his words as he began pointing aimlessly around the room.

“SPEAK!”

“She’s gone,” he finally stated. “She went into the portal with the orb. She’s dead.”

Both Anders and Kael flinched and then looked to the other. They were too late. “Emri?” Kael inquired, fully knowing the young woman would be grief stricken and in need of consoling.

“Inconsolable, sir. She had to be physically restrained … and you can see the damage she wreaked on the portal. Thank the Gods we stopped her—”

“What’d you do to her?!” Anders asked; his voice low and full of warning as he stepped forward and confronted Gregore. Like Emri, he had never cared for the man either. Great minds thought alike.

“We had to stop her,” he said slowly, refusing to say anymore. And that was their answer.

Anders’s blood ran cold, heart stopping at the fierce shiver that slammed into his body.

“For your sake, you’d better hope she’s alive and well, ‘cause if not, you’ve just doomed us, my friend,” and he stormed off for the infirmary, leaving Kael and Gregore to discuss the urgent matter at hand.

●●●

The earth beneath her tilted on its axis as her head fought against the dizziness that plagued her. Brightness greeted her in place of the darkness she had expected. The ground under her fingers felt warm, soft, and grainy. She clawed at it and realized it was grass and dirt, both warmed from the sun. She lifted her head, feeling bits of matter fall from her cheek and hair. A few feet from her rested the purifier orb, still intact.

Nora sighed; her eyes still trained on the orb, and allowed her head to rest back on the ground. All appeared quiet, and while that should have seemed alarming, Nora just wished to rest and deal with whatever awaited her later.

But as she closed her eyes, the methodic sounds of light footfalls flowed into her ears. Her breathing halted as she waited for a recognizable—and friendly—sound. Any sound that would quell her now racing heart.